The third courtyard of Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral
The present day St. Vitus Cathedral is the third sacred building consecrated to one patron in one place. Around 925 Saint Wenceslas Czech prince, founded here a Romanesque rotunda. After 1060, the rotunda was rebuilt into a three-nave basilica with two towers. In 973, a bishopric was founded in Prague. It was a very important moment in the history of the whole cathedral because a canonry was established here – the Metropolitan Chapter House of St. Vitus. It later became a very important institution.
Later, the three-nave basilica was replaced with a new building since in 1344 the Emperor Charles IV commenced the construction of a gothic cathedral. The cathedral was rising and other houses were annexed. Thanks to master builders such as Matthias of Arras and later also Peter Parler, this period saw the origin of unique items, for instance the chancel with a ring of chapels, the St. Wenceslaus’ Chapel, the Golden Portal and the bottom part of the great tower.
A granite monolith sixteen meters high rises in the third courtyard of Prague Castle. It was brought from Mrakotina. Originally, it should have been higher, but during the transportation the stone flew apart. Transportation was funded by T. G. Masaryk who used his private resources. It was placed on the tenth anniversary of Masaryk Republic, which took place in 1928. It serves as a memorial to the victims of the First World War. The obelisk was created according to J. Plecnik’s suggestions. That entire colossus from polished noble granite weighing one hundred and ten tons, was supplemented by a two-meter pyramid at the top in 1996.
Also you can see here a statue of St. George. This is one of the most significant Czech Gothic statues made of bronze. The statue shows St. George who is fighting with the dragon. Since the statue was damaged several times, in the court you can see only the spear. If you want to see the original, you have to go to the National Gallery.
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The author this painting is Jaroslav Šetelík. You can find this painting in book 'Praha' (
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Jaroslav Šetelík (
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The subjects of his paintings, mostly watercolours, were sceneries from Prague, Kutná Hora, Louny, Domažnice, etc. He also visited the High Tatras several times. He also worked on large paintings, painting mostly the city of Prague. Yugoslavia, Egypt, etc.